Currently, numerous data processing systems and applications, herein referred to collectively as data processing applications” or “applications”, are available to help users organize and process data. Examples of data processing applications include, but are not limited to, accounting and/or bookkeeping applications, tax preparation applications, healthcare expense tracking applications, docketing applications, etc.
Many of these data processing applications are used by “professional” users to create, organize, and store, multiple files, and/or documents, often for multiple clients, and/or for multiple projects. Herein, the term “professional user” includes, but is not limited to, any party that uses a data processing application to create, organize, and store, multiple files, and/or documents, for multiple clients, parties, purposes, or projects. For instance, as one example, accountants often use one or more versions of a given accounting and/or bookkeeping application to create documents, files, and/or folders, for multiple different clients.
Currently, when a user implements one or more versions of a data processing application to obtain, receive, create, organize, and store, multiple documents, and/or files, for multiple clients, and/or for multiple projects, the user typically creates their own unique data management and organizational scheme or structure to store files and documents in a data storage system, such as on/in one or more disk drives/hard drives, network drives, memories, etc., and these data management and organizational schemes are often redundant, spread across multiple data storage system locations and/or data storage systems, and often reflect the user's unique sense of order and structure which may, or may not, be intuitive to others.
In addition, when a user implements a data processing application to obtain, receive, create, organize, and store, multiple documents, and/or files, for multiple clients, and/or for multiple projects, the user often creates, and needs to access files, and/or documents, that are often of different file, and/or document, types such as, but not limited to: a user/company file, and/or document; a backup file, and/or document; an account file, and/or document, etc. Consequently, the user often incorporates data indicating the file type into their own unique data management and organizational scheme which adds a further element of complication, and often redundancy.
In addition, a user must often work with client files, and/or documents, that are associated with two or more versions of a “parent” data processing application, such as an accounting/bookkeeping application. Consequently, the user often incorporates data indicating the version of the parent data processing application into their own unique data management and organizational scheme which not only adds another element of complication, and often redundancy, but creates issues when an attempt is made to access the files, and/or documents, regarding which parent data processing application version should be used to access the files, and/or documents.
The fact that different users of data processing applications utilize different data storage and organization schemes, largely custom created by the users, to store files, and/or documents, means that currently it is often very difficult to automatically create accurate client lists and/or group/display files, and/or documents, for a given client or project. Consequently, logical data grouping, display, and analysis is extremely difficult and must currently be performed largely on a manual basis. However, despite the difficulties created by their individual data storage and organization schemes, most users of data processing applications prefer their own data storage and organization schemes and do not want to have the actual data associated with their client's files, and/or documents, moved out of the data's current physical memory location, or have any changes made to their own underlying data organization and storage system.
In addition, when a user uses a data processing application to create, organize, and store, multiple files, and/or documents, for multiple clients, and/or for multiple projects, the files, and/or documents, associated with each individual client/project are typically assigned passwords, logins, or other access restricting mechanisms, herein collectively referred to as “passwords”, that the user must provide before access to the group of files, and/or documents, associated with the client/project is allowed. In addition, in many cases, individual files, and/or documents, associated with individual clients may themselves be assigned individual passwords that a user must provide before access to the individual documents, files, and/or folders is allowed.
Since, as noted, many data processing applications are used to create, organize, and store, multiple documents, for multiple clients, and/or for multiple projects, it is often necessary for a user to retain and provide multiple passwords for use with multiple applications and/or multiple clients/projects. Retaining/remembering multiple passwords, and having to provide the multiple passwords repeatedly, for various applications is difficult and time consuming, thereby putting a significant burden on the users, particularly professional users, of the various data processing applications. In addition, the need for retaining/remembering multiple passwords often creates a security risk that defeats the purpose of requiring passwords in the first place.
For instance, some users of data processing applications keep spreadsheets of clients/projects, and/or files and folders, and their associated passwords, that, if obtained by a third party, would allow the third party access to all clients/projects, and/or files and folders. In some cases, lists of clients/projects, and/or files and folders, and their associated passwords, are maintained by users in a printed, or hardcopy, form that is even less secure, and more susceptible to unwanted access by third parties; some users even use post-its or other highly informal, and insecure, mechanisms.
In addition, the fact that a user must often work with client files, and/or documents, that are associated with two or more versions of a “parent” data processing application, and that the files, and/or documents, associated with each individual client/project are typically assigned individual passwords, logins, or other access restricting mechanisms, makes it extremely difficult to access multiple files, and/or documents, and process the multiple files, and/or documents, in batches, such as would be necessary to perform a batch upgrade. This is because in order to access the multiple files, and/or documents, the correct version of the data processing application must be identified and launched for each file, and/or document, and used to access the files, and/or documents. In addition, the individual passwords for the files, and/or documents, must be determined, and provided, before access to the files, and/or documents, is allowed.
Similarly, in order to restore a user/company, file, e.g. a working copy, from a backup file, a portable file, or a user copy transfer file, the user must currently first identify the correct file type/version, then determine the appropriate version of the parent data processing application to launch, restore a user/company copy of the file, and then determine and provide the individual password for the user/company file. This is currently a largely manual, and time-consuming, process.
As a result of the situation described above, currently, a professional user using a data processing application to create, organize, and store, multiple files, and/or documents, for multiple clients, and/or for multiple projects, must dedicate a significant portion of their “working” time to: creating and navigating their unique data management and organizational scheme or structure; trying to determine accurate client lists and/or group/display files, and/or documents, for either a given client or project; retaining/remembering multiple passwords, and having to provide the multiple passwords repeatedly, for various applications; largely manually, or individually, performing necessary processing of files, such as batch upgrades; and largely manually restoring files.
What is needed is a method and system that allows for simple and effective organization of multiple files, and/or documents, for multiple clients and/or projects and helps the user automate key file processing and maintenance functions, such as batch processing and restoration of files, without physically changing the current memory location of the data representing the files, and/or documents, or making any changes to user's existing underlying data storage and organization system/scheme.